HEC Budget Slashed: Impact on Higher Education in Pakistan
The federal government has made a significant cut to the recurrent budget of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the upcoming financial year, reducing it from Rs65 billion to Rs25 billion. This budget cut will now limit funding to only federal universities, leaving the public sector universities of provinces to self-fund.
The HEC had originally requested Rs126 billion to support over 160 public universities in the country, but the Planning Commission has also reduced the development budget from Rs59 billion to Rs21 billion.
In response, the Finance Ministry has urged provinces to arrange funding for their respective universities independently. This decision has raised concerns among education stakeholders, including Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar, who warned of a negative impact on universities.
Dr Mukhtar is taking steps to address this issue, by reaching out to the finance minister and prime minister. In 2018, the HEC budget was Rs65 billion, highlighting a significant decrease in funding that could affect the quality and accessibility of higher education in Pakistan.
Source: Govt revokes Higher Education Commission’s autonomy